Inês Martins, PhD, managing science editor —

Galapagos and e-therapeutics are partnering to investigate mechanisms involved in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other fibrotic conditions and to select potential therapeutic candidates. The collaboration will combine Galapagos’ extensive knowledge on IPF and fibrosis with e-therapeutics’ Network-driven Drug Discovery (NDD) platform for examining disease mechanisms…

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), an arm of the European Medicines Agency, has recommended the approval of Ofev (nintedanib) for the treatment of progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). This positive opinion follows Ofev’s approval for that same…

Ofev (nintedanib), an oral medication by Boehringer Ingelheim, is now approved to treat people with progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) in the U.S. and Canada. These approvals, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada, come on the heels of findings from the…

Algernon Pharmaceuticals received the first ethics approval for its Phase 2 clinical trial in Australia evaluating its repurposed compound NP-120 (ifenprodil) for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and associated chronic cough. Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital‘s Human Research Ethics Committee has approved two sites — the Cairns…

Veracyte has acquired the rights to a gene signature that may serve as a tool, based on a simple blood sample, for determining likely disease outcomes for people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The noninvasive blood-based 52-gene signature, developed by researchers at Yale University, will be offered as a complement…

People with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) have shorter survival times after an acute exacerbation than do those with other interstitial lung diseases (ILD), often dying within a few months of such flares, a study from Finland reports. Pulmonary fibrosis, or lung scarring, was the most common underlying cause of death…

In very rare cases, a tuberculosis infection in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and lung cancer may help activate the immune system and induce a spontaneous cancer remission, a case report suggests. While the patient in the study achieved complete cancer regression after treatment with standard first-line…

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have identified a new gene that, when mutated, increases the risk for pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema by reducing the activity of telomerase, the enzyme that maintains the protective caps, or telomeres, on chromosomes. The study, “Loss-of-function mutations in the RNA biogenesis factor…

A collaborative research effort identified new pathways involved in fibrosis using a software tool known as “Regeneration Intelligence,” which evaluated perturbations in several signaling pathways in lung and liver fibrosis, and in glaucoma. The research, leading to two studies, was conducted by Insilico Medicine working with scientists at Atlas Regeneration, Vision Genomics, and Howard University. The…

Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) may benefit from Esbriet (pirfenidone) treatment regardless of their disease stage and baseline lung function, according to a study by researchers at the University of Turin, in Italy, and colleagues. The study, “Efficacy of pirfenidone in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with…